Be my Light Through this Night
by Midnight Star26
Summary: Kira Nightwood has led an mostly normal human life, that is, until she met John Harrison and fell in love with Khan. This is their story, and how they led each other through the darkness. Please R&R! I up date every other Saturday, for the most part. Khan/OC. Rated T for safety.
1. The Bomb

**Hello dear reader!**

**I see the summary has interested you enough to to read some, this is pleasing to me. **

**Anyway, here we are at the first chapter of the story. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own Star Trek, nor do I own any of the characters other then my OC.**

**Also I would like to send out a special thanks to my two beta readers, and friends, Brightpath2 and TheatrexGeek! You should definitely check out their stories!**

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Kira walked down the busy street with the slightest skip to her long stride, she was wearing a pair of light grey pants and a long sleeved light blue button-up shirt. She also wore a long trench coat to keep herself warm in winter like weather. Her long brown, curly hair was tied back in its normal ponytail. Her dark brown eyes surveyed the area around her.

Kira felt her heartbeat quicken as she saw a familiar figure in the crowd ahead of her, mentally she kicked herself for acting like a hormone run teenager. A woman in a pink jacket and a flower print dress brushed past Kira who had paused for a moment to look at the man on the sidewalk in front of her. He was staring at another man across the road; Kira's racing heart suddenly skipped a beat. She shook her head, _'Everything will be fine'_she told herself. The first man's body relaxed slightly as the other man turned and entered the building. A smirk formed on Kira's face as she neared the first man. She noted his open hand and as she passed behind him she brushed it lightly. His hand closed and tightened suddenly to catch her hand. Kira had expected this and so, with her next step she let her arm pull tight for a moment before her body turned to face the man that caught a hold of her hand. A grin lighted Kira's mischievous face.

"Hello." Kira said calmly and with a raised eyebrow.

Khan's mouth twisted into a smirk as he pulled her in to a hug and kissed her lightly.

"Kissing strangers?" Kira asked with an air of disapproval.

"Only one." He whispered to her, she grinned.

"How has your day been?" he asked her.

"It's progressively getting better." Kira answered with a smile.

A smirk formed on Khan's face, the only form of a smile she could get from him in public.

Khan glanced down at his watch, "You should go back home." He said all his past seriousness returning to his face.

Kira pulled just out of his grasp, "I know what's happening. I'm going to stay here with you." She didn't want to be clingy but part of her needed to be close to him.

A pained face looked down at her, "Please, go home." Part of Kira was silently pleased that Khan was accepting her clinginess. Maybe subconsciously, he realized what was going on.

Kira hugged him close to her, "Don't leave me." She whispered trying hard to keep the tears out of her voice. He returned the hug just as tightly, "Go home and pack two small backpacks with only basic necessities. I need you far away when this goes off."

"How do I know you're not going to leave me?" She questioned.

As an answered he opened the last button on her jacket and reached in to her pocket, Kira knew what he was getting so she didn't move. He pulled out what he was reaching for, buttoned her coat back, pulled away a bit to grab her hand, and pressed it in to the palm of her hand. She saw the silver glint out of the corner of her eye. He showed her a chain that hung around his neck and made sure she saw it before it pulling her in to a tight hug.

"Fine." She whispered and buried herself in to the hug. She breathed in deeply trying to memorize his smell, _'I don't need to do this.'_ She thought for a moment as she pulled away. _'I'll see him soon.'_ She swallowed hard, kissed him, then turned and ran, continuously forcing herself not to look back.

She ran to the next closest main street where she got a cab that would take her two blocks away from the house. She slipped on the ring Khan had given her once she was in the cab and sat, trying to be patient, for the rest of the ride. Once she was out of the cab she started to run toward home. It was only when she was half way home that she allowed the hot tears to roll down her cheek, she hated being so emotional.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Kira raced up the three stairs that lead to the front door of the house that she lived in with Khan. She grabbed her key from her pants pocket; her cold hands fumbled a moment with the key before she opened the door. She ran down the five foot long hallway that now seemed quite a bit longer than it ever had before. To her right was the dining room and kitchen; to her left was the living room and right against the hallways wall was another short hallway that lead to the bedroom. When Kira reached the end of the hallway she grabbed the corner to pivot herself 180 degrees so she was already in the hallway.

Only when she was in the room did she wipe her eyes of the tears she had cried on the way over. She ran to the walk-in closet and grabbed the two black backpacks she found to her left. Kira tossed them onto the queen-sized bed and flicked through her cloths. _'Something dark would be best.'_ She grabbed a dark grey shirt along with a black one before turning to grab a sturdy pair of pants. She rolled them into a bundle before tossing them at the bed. The clothes landed close to one of the backpacks without separating too much. Kira walked in a bit further to get to Khan's clothes and picked out basically the same things. She figured that the coats they were wearing should be good, but to be on the safe side she packed an extra one for both of them. As she walked out, she tossed them on to the bed and went to the drawers to get underwear.

Kira was a relatively level headed person and her pulse was slowly dropping back to normal. After she got all the clothes folded and packed in to a bag she headed towards the kitchen. The entire back wall of the living room was a glass window. She paused for a moment to look out, she took in every detail. She watched with a mild surprise as one of the buildings started to collapse in on itself. She stood for a moment longer before it hit her that that was a signal that Khan would, hopefully, be there soon and she had no wish to keep him waiting.

The clothes took up about half the bag, so she packed the rest of the pockets with bottles of water and a few high carb snacks. Kira opened a drawer and put the room temperature water bottles out on to the floor.

She stood up and opened a cabinet; she scanned through the food for a moment before picking the ones that would last the best. Once Kira had gotten out enough freezer dried food that it would last them a week, she turned to the cabinet opposite her, which was where the fridge was.

She climbed onto the counter with the ease of someone that had been doing it their whole life. Once she was on her feet, holding close to the cabinet doors she reached up with one hand and felt for the box that was on top of the cabinet. Once her hand closed on it she turned slightly and jumped off of the counter and landed lightly in a squatting position next to the backpacks. She stood and pulled everything off the counter down to the ground so she could begin packing. The first aid box went first, followed by the water bottles. She heard the door unlock and the light footfalls of Khan as he walked in to the house. She shoved the food into the backpack trying to fill every dead spot.

When she finished, she stood and dusted herself off. She grabbed the bags and went to meet Khan. He smiled when he saw her; he was carrying his own black rectangular bag.

"I guess this means I won't have help carrying the backpacks then." Kira said trying to make light of the situation.

He let the bag down softly and took one of the backpacks. "This is why I leave you in charge of the packing." He joked as he felt how light it was. Kira let the backpack she had, slip off her shoulder as she went and hugged him tightly. For a moment he was surprised, but he quickly returned the hug. Kira struggled for a moment to hold back her tears but realized it was no use.

Khan buried his face in her hair for a moment before he pulled back slightly so he could see her face. He wiped away her tears "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" he asked guessing the problem.

Kira made a face "Well there was that one time-." She trailed off and smiled up at him. She kissed him before pulling away. "Go change." She demanded "You're covered in dust." She forced a laugh as she brushed off her clothes.

"Fine." Khan said with a fake pout that was quickly over taken with a smile. Kira followed after him as he went to rinse off the soot and cement dust. Once Kira had packed some weapons she sat on the edge of the bed telling him what she had packed, more for her benefit then his.

"That sounds great." Khan said as he left the bathroom in only a towel wrapped around his waist and went to the closet to change. Kira looked out the window to hide her blush, she might have lived with him for some two years, but still, when he caught her off guard, she snorted to herself and missed the wry grin Khan flashed at her. They knew each other's buttons. While Khan was getting dressed she went to her night table and took a plain silver chain necklace and slipped of the charm before she slipped off her ring and put it on the necklace. Khan came up behind her so when she went to clip it he grabbed the ends of the chains from her hands and did it for her. He hugged her from behind and she could tell he didn't have a shirt, she leaned her head back so it rested against the crook of his neck. He kissed her neck before letting go to finish changing.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Once Khan was dressed and ready, and they had double checked what Kira had packed, they headed out the door. Khan was carrying the lighter of the two bags, much to his disagreement, as well as the black bag that held the portable transwarp beaming device, or as Kira had quickly nicknamed it, the Pwarp. She had laughed when she said it out loud.

Now as she shouldered her backpack and looked back through the closing door she realized she might never see the place she called home again. Kira pushed down the wave of nostalgia as she closed and locked the door. They were heading towards a new beginning, into the darkness of the unknown future.

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**So, what do you think? Do you like it, hate it, meh it? Let me know in a comment! Or you could of course just follow or favorite it I guess...**

**This is one of the shorter chapters, actually I think it's the shortest one so far. Anyway I do promise longer chapters in the future.**

**I will be updating every other Saturday (hopefully), that means the next chapter will be up on the 28th of this month.**

**Let me know what you think! Also check out my other Star Trek fanfic if you want to get a preview of the next chapter if you're too impatient, that is if you answer all of the references correctly...**

**Thanks for your time and please, please R&R!**

**Yours truly (sort of),**

**MidnightStar26**


	2. Forget First Sight

**Hello Dearest reader!**

**So you all made me very happy! I have never gotten so many views (it was over 200 last time I looked).  
**

**Also, thank you to all the wonderful people that commented!**

**Disclaimer****: I was talking with Kirk about me owning Star Trek, he said no. Why did he have to become responsible! (Also, for this chapter, just so you know I don't drink, nor have I ever been to a bar, well, i've been to one that was in a Whole Foods, but that's a story for another time. If I get enough comments on wanting to know more about it I will post it at the end of the next chapter...)**

**As always I would like to thank my two awesome beta readers that share in my obsessions, ****TheatrexGeek and ****Brightpath2.**  


**********Because some of you have your PM turned of I will reply to you here:**

**********Babygurl1944: It pleases me much that you like it.**

**********meng-di: I'm glad you like it so far and hopefully I continue to keep your interest.**

**********Guest: You're in luck because that is exactly what at least the next 10 or more chapters will be on!**

**********aandm20: I hope you continue to read and enjoy, now that you have more to go on.**

**********rockerpunk: I'm glad you like it, I will reply fully to you at the bottom of the page.**

**********Forever Fanfiction Lover22: hehe, well here's some more. again I will reply to your wanting me to update more at the bottom.**

**Poemwriter98: Thank you! It's always reassuring to know someone else can make sense of my writing. And the plot bunnies in my head apparently agree with you on the fact that Khan should be with some one. They made that clear -sigh-.**

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_~Two years previous~_

Kira sat at the bar reading a book and fiddling with a strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail, the rest of her hair had formed in to ringlets. She was immersed in her book when the bartender came up to her and asked if she wanted her usual, it took him two tries.

"Kira, do you want your usual?" He asked louder the second time and caused Kira to jump.

"Yes please." She said, "I'll pay for it." She added quickly, the bartender chuckled and Kira shook her head; she tried to not let herself zone out so much as she went back to reading.

"Is it a good book?" He asked grinning as he placed her cranberry and orange juice mix on the counter.

"You would know Uncle Chris." She smiled back at him; he had given it to her for her last birthday.

Kira didn't frequent bars, she didn't even drink, but when she wanted to talk to her favorite uncle she would drive the two hours to spend a weekend with him. Most of the time these important meetings were when one of the shows they watched together was starting or when the season finally was going to be on. It was when she was much younger that he had first made her the drink he had just made her, as she drank it brought back all the good memories she had connected with it.

Chris left her to go serve someone else so Kira went back to reading, occasionally taking a drink. She had just finished her drink when a man came up and leaned next to her, she tried her best to ignore him but he wouldn't have that.

"Hello there pretty thing." He slurred, Kira wrinkled her nose at the engulfing smell of alcohol. This was one of the downfalls of staying with her uncle at his work.

"Hello." Kira said, the tone of her voice would have told any sober person that she was not interested in pursuing anymore of a conversation and to leave her alone, unlucky most drunks didn't catch this and _this_ man was no different.

"Can I buy you a drink?" He asked, if he hadn't been so drunk and annoying Kira might have thought that he was handsome, he had short blond hair and dark green eyes also, guessing from his uniform he worked for Starfleet.

Kira glanced over her shoulder and saw the table where he had just come from, "No, you should really just save your money." She answered sharply and with a suddenly very annoyed tone, his friends must have bet him to come over here.

"You sure?"

"I don't drink." Kira's answer came out in a hiss.

"You're in a bar, you know that right?" The man asked but Kira had already turned away from him and was trying to distract herself with something else.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Khan sat in the corner of the bar, on the opposite side from Kira; from here he could watch everything that was happening. The bar was in a constant flux with some highly drunk people leaving and sober people getting off of work to come here to see friends. There was only one person that confused him and that was the woman sitting across from him, she was in a green shirt and a white cardigan that had no buttons; she was obviously trying to avoid most people other than her uncle who was currently working the bar, yet she sat in a seat that would allow people to sit next to her which was currently happening, along with the man that was leaning on the bar trying to flirt with her. Why she picked the seat was obvious with less than a moment of observation, she was reading and the seat she was in offered the most light. This was the fact that drew Khan to watching her, that she was reading, honestly not a very remarkable thing in its self, it was the fact that in this digital age that he had woken up in, she was reading a paper book, a hard back to be precise, that drew his attention.

He was taking a break from 'work', that is, the building of advanced weaponry that would give Starfleet the upper hand in the war that Admiral Marcus wanted in exchange for the safety of his people. In an attempt to be left alone Khan had gotten a cab to get him away from the city, it was apparent that other people from Starfleet had the same idea; he had noticed the men in the standard Starfleet uniforms as soon as he came in and had tried not to get annoyed at the fact they had chosen the same place as he had to spend their Friday night. He watched the one Starfleet officer, who already had too much to drink offer to buy the woman a drink; she declined with some amount of courtesy once she realized she was the object of a bet. Khan found that he had a smirk on his face, he was entertained by what was happening but he didn't understand completely why he was showing the emotion.

The idiot that was trying flirt with the woman of interest had apparently said something she took as rude, she tilted her head and made a comment, The man laughed and replied with sarcasm this earned him slap across the face and there was a movement Khan couldn't see, most likely a knee to a soft spot. The man sank to his knees and the woman leaned over to whisper something in his ear before turning back to her book while the man hobbled to his chair. She tried to hide a grin behind her hand and Khan, unable to help himself shared it.

The person that was sitting on the woman's right side stood with a tray full of drinks and returned to their table. Khan stood and walked over to take the now empty chair, it was only when he was a few feet away that he realized what he was doing, he paused but was already turning so he could sit, there was really no way to turn around now. He shrugged his shoulders, he could easily ignore her.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Kira was tried her best to hide her grin, she honestly didn't realize how much damage she had done until she watched the man limp away, she wasn't that sorry though, she had told him to leave her alone. She stifled a giggle at the look her uncle shot her "It was his fault." She stated; most of the people had been watching the guy so she was, luckily, not the center of attention. She saw out of the corner of her eye a man coming to take the newly emptied chair next to her, Kira was a bit surprised, most people avoided her for at least an hour after something like that happened. The man paused a moment, maybe he was realizing who he was about to sit next to, Kira stopped herself from grinning and cleared her throat. She went back to reading and sure enough he actually sat down, Kira looked at him from the corner of her eye. He was in a loose gray shirt T-shirt and black pants; he had long dark brown hair that he had smoothed back and startling blue eyes. Kira looked back down at her book; she could feel her cheeks flush, annoyed with the show of emotion she shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. They sat quietly for a minute before Chris came by.

"Can I get you something?" Chris asked.

"Yes, a Bourbon and Coke." Khan answered, he honestly didn't care to drink but didn't want to just sit there, and maybe he was a bit self conscious.

Kira couldn't help but comment, "I wouldn't get that if I were you." she stated quietly, hoping he hadn't heard her.

"What would you get?" Khan asked "You don't drink so how would you know?"

Kira straitened up and looked at him, _'so he did hear what I said.'_ She thought for a split second before she saved her reputation. "I may not drink but I do know that the Coke comes in a plastic bottle that has been open for," she paused to glance at the clock, "two hours and forty-two minutes, my guess would be that it's already gone flat." She raised an eyebrow wondering how he would respond to that.

"Well then, if you did drink what would you have?" Khan asked hiding the fact that he was impressed.

She looked him up and down for a moment before deciding what he would most likely enjoy, "I would make myself a shot of Dragon Blood." She answered quickly.

"Well then, I guess I'll have a Dragon Blood." Khan directed the answer at Chris.

Kira saved her uncle, "Though I love my uncle I haven't given him the recipe." Kira smiled, she liked keeping something out of reach, and for her uncle it was her most recent drink ideas. "Mind if I come over?" Kira asked Chris, he threw his arms up in defeat, so Kira with no small amount of grace lifted herself up and over the counter.

"I hate it when you do that." Chris said, not for the first or last time.

"I only touched it with my hands!" Kira defended herself, though her uncle still cleaned the counter, Kira snorted at him before washing her hands and grabbing a shot glass. Kira had gotten the idea for the Dragon Blood while reading a book, the blood of dragons was sweet to the taste but burned like fire once it was swallowed so the recipe formed natural in her mind. She grabbed a bottle of grape juice and poured it in to about a third of the cup, this was followed by a fourth of apple juice, "I hope you don't mind a sweet taste." she said with a smirk. He didn't oppose to it so she continued. At this point the drink was a light purple in color, to get it back to the color she wanted she poured in cranberry juice until it was a dark red with a shade of purple. She knew she had to add some sort of burn so she eyed what was around a third of vodka.

"Try that." Kira said as she placed a napkin and the shot in front of Khan while she went out of the bar the _human_ way, know to her as the long way.

Khan waited for Kira to come back before he drank it. She watched his face eagerly to make sure she had mixed it correctly. As Khan drank it he seemed to enjoy it for a moment before it scorched his throat at which point he started coughing. Kira laughed and clapped her hands, her laugh like tiny bells ringing with joy to Khan's ears.

"Are you okay?" Kira asked earnestly, a smile still lite up her face.

"That's a strong drink you can make." Khan said his voice a bit raspy from coughing but still seemed to be like silk.

"My name is Kira Nightwood." Kira held out her hand.

"John Harrison." Khan shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you John." Kira smirked.

"Pleasure to meet you Kira." Khan replied

"So, what is your favorite colour?" Kira asked

"That's a classic question." Khan scoffed, "It's blue anyway. Why do you ask?"

"Good choice." Kira replied, her favorite colour was blue as well, "And I asked it because it starts a conversation." It was a simply half lie but she felt it necessary.

"What are you doing here?" Khan asked, he may be a superior human, but he still was curious.

Kira laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear, "Would just visiting my uncle work or do you want the real reason?"

"Are you doing something secretive?" He asked, he wanted to listen to her, her voice to him was like that of a piano constantly creating beautiful music that someone could lay back and listen to for the rest of their lives.

"Hardly!" Kira laughed, "I'm a photographer and I have a photo shoot close to here so, I figured while I was down I could visit my uncle."

Khan nodded, "So you're photographer then or is it just a hobby?"

"It's both; I graduated with a minor in photography and creative writing."

"So you're a photographer and you're a writer!" This time Khan didn't hide his surprise, "What did you major in?"

"My _real _job is being a wildlife biologist."

"Your real job?" They shared a laugh at the tone. "I'm surprised you survived college with all the work you must have had to do."

"Well I started at seventeen so I had more time than most. Anyway, what do you do?"

Khan was worried this question would crop up; he surprised himself by answering truthfully. "I create weapons for Starfleet." His voice was hushed so others wouldn't hear.

Kira raised her eyebrows "So Starfleet is finally catching up." She said thoughtfully. Khan simply grunted and Kira knew not to ask anything more about it. They continued to question each other; they found that they both lived in London. They shared old memories and embarrassing moments, and talked about books along with other things for around two hours, it was as if no one else existed, then Kira looked at the clock and noticed it was eleven.

"Oh my! I have to go, the shoot starts at eight." She pulled out one of her cards and a pen from her purse, "this is my phone number," she underlined her cell number before flipping over the card, "and this is my address." She wrote it quickly in easily readable, flowing letters. "Maybe we can go out to dinner or something." She passed the card to Khan, "And maybe, once you trust me more, you can tell me your real name John."

Kira stood and was about to leave when Khan, gently, grabbed her wrist "How do you know I lied?" He asked his voice was serious.

Kira stood close to him and answered softly "I told you I studied psychology. One of the things I learned was to watch and see if people are telling the truth, micoexpressions are one way of doing such things. You might remember right after I found out your name I asked what your favorite color was. People rarely lie about their favorite color." she leaned in closer, kissed his cheek and was gone.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Kira could feel her face flush red as she left, she had just kissed a complete stranger, not only that but she gave him her number and address. She really hoped he wasn't some sort of creeper.

It was just as she started her car that she realized what had happened, they had 'clicked', she laughed a bit because that couldn't be, and yet she had just given her trust to a complete stranger. The only answer that she could come up with that fit was that they indeed had 'clicked'. She felt her heartbeat start to race as her thoughts flew around in her head faster than the speed of light. She was so distracted she had to turn around because she had missed the turn to her uncle's house.

_'I wonder if he feels the same way? _She thought as she stared up at the wall in her uncle's guest bedroom before falling asleep.

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**So, what do you think? I hope you enjoyed it. Creative criticism is welcome, flames will be used to roast marshmallows for s'mores!**

**And yes, for the sake of the story and it's timeline I have made it to were Khan is awake for two years instead of one...**

**Want to know more about microexpressions? Here is a link to wiki wiki/Microexpression .**

**Want to know more about the science of 'Clicking'? Here is an AMAZING book if you're into psychology Click-The-Magic-Instant-Connections/dp/B008SLSTQU , other wise check out here blog/more-chemistry/201108/relationship-chemistry- can-science-explain-instant-connections. I suggest reading the book.**

** So I have yet to try my drink mixture that I put in the story (the 'virgin' form), but from most of my experiments it should taste good, apple juice and grape juice do taste really good together! As for the orange juice and cranberry juice, let me just say it is amazing! Like an angel... peeing on your tongue! =P**

**So about the comments asking me to update soon or quickly... I love getting comments but these comments tear me apart! I love writing this story (even if chapter 6/8 is being a turd...) so I want to update more but i already told myself that I'm only going to update every other Saturday. It's almost a daily struggle to keep myself for saying "Ahh! People like it! here have more!", honestly it's some weird form of torture...**

**So I will be posting every other Saturday! This keeps me ahead (I try to write a chapter a week) so you all don't have to deal with my writer's block, but don't worry! I will still be taking all your comments into consideration.**

**Also I will be making a Photo Bucket account so you can see clothing, building layouts, ext. because I may not be able to describe something as well but mainly because pictures are fun!**

**Thank you for reading! I hope you continue to enjoy it. Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows!**

**And Please! Comment, review, make suggestions, tell me what you want to see in the story!**

**Sincerely****,**

**Midnight Star26**

**P.S. Just to get you excited, there will be fencing (sword fighting) and possibly some sailing along with other crazy stuff my mind comes up with. no if you will excuse me, I have ballistics gel to go make then destroy with my foil... All in the name of proving that a flexible blade can both slash and stab, my Pathfinder's character has an elven curved blade and my Dad says it is just a slashing weapon so I'm going to take my most flexible (of the two) foil I have and prove to my Dad that my ECB can work as a stabbing weapon. This is a LONG AN... Sorry about that.**

**P.S.S. If anyone else plays Pathfinder and has an elven curved blade please comment and let me know if I'm right or wrong. i'm still going to go stab the ballistics gel though... It sounds like fun.**


	3. The First Date

**Hello again faithful readers and new comers,**

**Thank you for all the following, favoring, and Comment!**

**So the chapters are gradually getting longer, like I promised. **

**Sending a grateful thanks out there to my two amazing beta's that are some how able to deal with me, Brightpath 2 and TheatrexGeek!**

**I don't have much else to say today other than sorry for posting so late in the day, this week has been busy and I still haven't finished what will be either chapter 6 or chapter 8 depending on what my beta's think. Also this coming week is my birthday week, yay! I get to see family and eat yummy foods!**

**I PMed as many people as I could that reviewed any way:**

**Guest: Thank you for understanding! I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

* * *

Kira was exhausted as she entered her apartment. The photo shoot she was at had gone over time by at least two hours so, she wasn't able to meet with her uncle until around 2 O'clock in the afternoon. She had spent the rest of the afternoon with him till 6 O'clock at which time she decided to drive home. The traffic hadn't been too bad but she still was home closer to nine then eight.

She lived on the third floor of the apartment complex so luckily she didn't have to worry about people making noise above her as it was also the top floor.

Once she opened the first door, which was made in to a patio, she could faintly hear the sounds of her cat meowing at the door.

Kira smiled weakly at the sound while she fumbled with her key. She had her camera bag and overnight bag strapped across her chest so the straps formed an 'x' across her chest. The bags weren't heavy but they seemed to try and cause her as much trouble as possible. Kira opened the door and flicked the light on in the living room.

"Good evening Izzie." Kira greeted her Siamese calico mix with a quick scratch on the head before closing the door. She headed straight to her room with Izzie at her heels; her room was simply furnished, she had a full size bed that had a dark brown wooden bed frame, the head of the bed was pushed up against the only wall in her room that had a window. At the foot of the bed she had an oak wood chest. She slipped her camera bag on top of the chest and kicked off her shoes as she surveyed her room. Against the adjacent wall was her book shelf and the door that lead back to the living room. Next to her bed was her white and black night table that was also a dresser. She dropped her overnight bag in front of her dresser; she would take care of it later. In the opposite corner was a box that Izzie liked to play in and a few cat toys. Kira headed back to the living room listening to Izzie meow about her day. She paused at the threshold that lead to her room and bent down to pick up Izzie. Izzie meowed her appreciation before climbing on back Kira's back

Behind the front door was a wall coat rack that held her scarves, hats and the occasional jacket. Along the same wall was a window where you could see a bit of the porch and the apartment's pool, this was one of Izzie's favorite spots. Against the perpendicular wall was a light brown sofa, on the opposite wall of the sofa, the same wall the door was, was a rarely used television.

"Do you want some food?" Kira asked Izzie as she walked towards the kitchen. Izzie meowed at her and Kira rubbed Izzie's head, which was just above her shoulder.

Izzie was laying down on Kira's back so Kira was forced to walk hunched over so Izzie wouldn't fall off her back, as it was Izzie still dug her claws in to Kira's back, and as always Kira couldn't help but think that she walked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The only thing separating the living room from the kitchen was a wide counter where the sink was. On the living room side of the counter was a table that sat four.

Kira paused next to the counter so Izzie could hop off her back, this was their normal routine so they both knew how thing went. Once Izzie was on the counter Kira would pick up the two bowls that were on the floor next to the counter, one had food and the other one had water which Izzie rarely drank out of. Kira placed the empty food bowl on the counter next to Izzie and went to wash the water bowl.

"I don't know why I put out water for you when you don't drink it." Kira sighed, decoration in the bathroom with the rocks in it, is for decoration Izzie."

Izzie's reply was to start licking her paw so she could clean her face.

"You're such a butt!" Kira laughed and splashed some water in Izzie's direction; Izzie meowed in indignation and started licking her now wet shoulder while Kira placed the bowl of water back on the ground. Now Izzie started meowing loudly as Kira opened the container that held her food. Kira smiled and stroked her back, this was the only time Izzie would let anyone pet her body, on all other occasions Kira could only scratch her head or she would come back with a wrist full of scratches and bites.

Once Izzie was feed and all of her water bowls, including the one in the bathroom she went to her room and collapsed on the bed. She was lying on her belly looking out over her room, her phone on her night table. She glanced at the clock; it was 9:10pm. Normally she wouldn't have been so tired at this time but had she exhausted from the photo shoot. Kira let out a sigh, she still had to load the pictures and send them to her client. Izzie hopped up on the bed next to her face before jumping on to the window seal.

Kira rolled her eyes, "You know I don't enjoy you doing that." Kira stated roll on to her back. Izzie just flicked her ear as she continued to look out the window. Kira was just about to get up to change in to PJ's when her phone rang. Kira jumped to a sitting position and answered the call on the second ring, she may live in a world ruled by technology but that didn't mean she was used to it.

She looked at the screen, it was an unknown number. "Hello." She answered the phone pleasantly, trying to hide her surprise and exhaustion.

"Hello. Is this Kira Nightwood?" A familiar voice replied.

"Why yes it is John." Kira smiled.

"How are you doing?" Khan asked

"Are you a asking because you want to know or because of social rules?" Kira asked playfully.

Khan chuckled, "Are you going to be busy Monday night?" He asked cutting strait to the point.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Kira asked suspiciously.

"I do believe that's where I'm going with the question."

"Then no, I have nothing going on Monday night."

"Would it work if I picked you up at six?"

"Perfectly." Kira smiled. "Oh and don't worry about coming up, just send me a text and I'll come down."

"Alright, I'll see you at six."

"Alright, good night."

"Good night." Kira heard the phone disconnect before she pulled it away. She smiled to herself as she changed in to PJ's.

She turned off her phone and fell asleep.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Kira opened the bathroom door that lead to her bedroom and looked at the clock, the time was 5:40, she had twenty minutes to fix her hair and get dressed.

Izzie sat on the bathroom counter watching as Kira took the hair around her temples and braided it so she could bring the two braids to back of her head, once there she secured them with a clip. She inspected it to make sure it was up to her standards, satisfied she went to her closet.

She flicked through her clothes before deciding on a white spaghetti strap that had a black printed pattern of roses and butterflies and a black short sleeve bolero with black slacks and her black boots.

She turned to look at the clock, it was 5:55, she smiled as she sat down her bed, she was five minutes early. Kira bent down to pick up on of Izzie's mice when Izzie jumped off the window seal and on to her back before jumping to the ground. Kira sat up strait and rubbed her back where Izzie had pushed off her back with her back claws, it took her a moment to realize that when Izzie had pushed of her back she had made holes in the shirt.

"Izzie!" Kira yelled as the cat darted in to the bathroom. Kira was about to follow when the doorbell rang. "Who is it?" She called out to buy her some time as she took off the shirt and slipped on the first T-shirt she grabbed.

"UPS, I have a package for a Kira Nightwood." The man at the door said.

Kira wasn't thinking to hard as she tried to figure out what she had ordered. It was only when she was out on the patio about to open the door that it occurred to her. They had talked on Sunday and she had told him to not worry about coming up to get her, obviously he had ignored that.

"You're early." She stated as she opened the door to Khan smiling down at her.

He glanced down at a silver watch he wore on his wrist. "So I am. No offence but I do hope you're not wearing that to dinner, you look a bit," he paused trying to find the right word, "odd."

Kira looked down at what she was wearing, nice slacks, black boots, and a light pink breast cancer shirt. "Really? I thought it looked really nice." She grinned "Do you want to come inside while I change?"

"Sure."

Kira almost laughed out loud when she saw Izzie. Izzie was not a cat that liked being around strangers, normally when Kira had company over Izzie would hide in her room, so you might be able to imagine Kira's surprise when she Siamese cat standing with her back arched on the table and her tail fluffed up like one of the fronds from the fox fern plant Kira had growing on the patio, the fur along her spine was standing strait up. Because of Izzie's short fur the rest of her fur, for one reason or another remained smoothed down.

"So this is Izzie." Khan stated more then asked as looked at the Siamese cat. Izzie looked like most traditional Siamese's, she had a gray face and tail along with some very on the paws, the only way you could really tell she was a mutt was by the five tan spots she had on her back. Kira had told him about her when they had first met.

Kira could tell she was more angry then scared, her blue eyes were an ice blue and her pupils were narrowed into sharp diamond shapes.

"Well, I'll leave you two to have a staring contest and I'll go change into another shirt seeing as someone," Kira glared at Izzie, "scratched holes in to my other one." With that Kira slipped in to her room and closed the door quickly so Izzie couldn't come in, she didn't need another torn shirt. Kira flipped through her clothes again, it only took her a moment to decide on what shirt.

The shirt was a denim blue color short-sleeve button up; in the front around the shoulders it had strips of lighter blue silky cloth and see-through lace. In the middle where the buttons were there was a frilly blue ribbon on both sides that went up all the way until it met with the dark blue silk collar.

Once she was dressed Kira opened her door to find Khan sitting on the couch with Izzie lying comfortably on his chest while he scratched her head. Khan was in black pants and a dark purple business button up shirt.

Kira stood in her door way watching them for a minute, "I see you two have become friends." She stated with a grin.

Khan raised an eyebrow, "Did you think we wouldn't get along?"

Kira walked across the room and sat down next to him. "Izzie is a picky cat; normally it takes her a long time to warm up to people. Also she's never laid down on anyone like this except for my Dad." Kira's said rubbing Izzie's head, she was already purring.

"I guess that means I'm special then." Khan said proudly.

"I guess so." Kira said standing up.

"We should probably get going." Khan said shifting so Izzie would get off of him; she obediently hopped off his chest.

Kira shook her head in annoyance, "And she listens to you."

Khan just grinned as he stood and tried to brush the white cat hair off of himself.

Kira laughed as she moved towards the door. "Good luck getting her fur off you."

Khan quickly gave up as they headed down stairs to his car.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

They had been driving for about fifteen minutes when there was finally a pause in their conversation. Kira looked out her window trying to find a way to word her question; finally she went with the obvious was.

"What is your real name?" She asked, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, people hid their names for good reasons and she really hoped she wasn't asking an inappropriate question, she watched his face to try and read his emotions.

She had asked the question right as Khan was changing lanes; he swerved back into the lane the car was in a moment ago as a previously unseen car went speeding past them. Kira tensed to stay in her position and would have looked away from him if it weren't for the fact that she grew up with her mother's driving.

Finally after a moment that seemed to stretch on forever, he answered her, "Khan Noonien Singh."

Kira nodded and looked out the window while she thought for a moment "I don't think I can say your middle name." She stated plainly.

Khan smiled "Your British, I don't expect to be able to say any of my name except Khan."

"I'm half Colombian!" Kira said insulted.

"Really?" Khan laughed, "You don't look it."

"My brother and younger sister took all the dark skinned genes." Kira stated looking down at her white arms. "But I do have brown eyes!" She said proudly.

"Well let me hear it then."

"Hear what?" Kira was confused for a moment.

"Say my name." Khan challenged.

"Khan Noonah Singh. Why did you say your middle name anyway?" Kira asked confused, trying to cover up her mispronunciation.

Khan simply shrugged.

They drove quietly for a bit until Kira thought she had it. "Khan Noonien Singh." She said quietly beaming happily once she realized she had said it right.

"Good job." Khan smirked and Kira leaned back in her chair pleased.

They sat in a comfortable silence until they pulled up to the restaurant. Right before Khan got out Kira spoke "It fits you better." She smiled and unbuckled her seat belt. Now Kira was going to test his manners on something she hated, she wanted to see if he would open her door. She watched as he walked around the car and indeed, he opened her door.

"You've been taught well." Kira smirked as she took his offered hand.

"Why thank you." Khan said in a tone that made Kira laugh.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Their dinner conversation was relaxed and fluent, they joked and teased with each other in a way that you would expect long time friends too, most definitely not the conversations you would expect from people that had just met three days ago. Kira noticed a difference in Khan; he seemed more relaxed both physical and emotional, as if a weight had been lifted from him once he had shared a bit more about himself.

Once they finished dinner Khan drove Kira back home.

"Do you want to stay for a bit?" Kira asked when they were at her door.

Khan looked down at his silver watch, it was 7:30. "If you don't mind." He shrugged his shoulders.

"I wouldn't be offering if I minded." Kira pointed out as she unlocked the door.

"That is a brilliant point." Khan said holding the door open for Kira.

"I'm full of those." Kira smirked as she went to work on the second, inner door. "I hate locks." She growled as she tried the lock for a second time, she was pulling the handle in with her free hand so it would unlock easier but it still didn't budge.

Khan let the door close shut behind him. "Let me." He offered and turned the hand that Kira held the key in. The door unlocked and Kira shoot him a glare. Kira was highly aware of Khan's close proximity to herself and it took her a moment to make sure her heated cheeks were more out of frustration than anything else.

"Thank you." Kira said with a sharp edge in her tone. Khan smiled as he followed her inside, Izzie was sitting on the arm of the couch waiting for them.

She meowed as if to say 'It's about time you got home.' before she hopped off the chair and stood in front of Kira.

"Hello sweetheart." Kira said sweetly as she picked the cat up off the floor. Izzie placed her paws on Kira's shoulder and allowed Khan to scratch her head. Kira went to the couch and sat down, once Khan was sitting next to her Izzie jumped out of her arms and laid down his chest, he leaned back so she would be more comfortable. Kira slipped off her shoes and tucked her feet underneath her.

Kira narrowed her eyes, "She never wants to sit on me."

Khan smiled smugly, "I guess she likes me more then."

Kira thought for a moment, "I've decided it's a sign of respect that she doesn't get on me. I mean have you ever seen a cat sitting on another cat?"

"So you're saying she's letting me know that she is more dominant then I am?"

"Precisely."

"You're also saying she thinks you're a cat."

Kira shrugged, "I don't see why not."

Khan chuckled and rubbed Kira's head with his free hand, " Do you a like that?" He asked.

"It's good enough." Kira said and scooted closer to him so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Khan didn't seem to mind it so she stayed in that position and started scratching under Izzie's chin. It was almost subconsciously that khan wrapped his arm around Kira. They sat in silence for a bit listening to Izzie's purring.

"Will you tell me about yourself?" Kira asked looking up at him.

There was silence for a minute before Khan replied "What do you want to know?"

"Well people don't make false identities for fun, there is always a motive."

"Admiral Marcus of Starfleet came up with it when he," Khan paused and looked at Kira, how much could he trust her. Her intelligent brown eyes looked in to his, she was willing to listen to him, she even seemed eager to; and she didn't seem like a person who would go and tell others. On the flip side of the coin what would happen to her if he told her his history, he knew there weren't any prying ears here but he couldn't be certain of her safety while he was gone, even a dinner he was watching for anyone that seemed too interested in their conversation. _'Why am I so worried for her?' _ He questioned himself.

"If I tell you my history you must promise me, swear to me, that you will not share it with any other breathing soul in this universe." He whispered turning his body away slightly so he could see her face better.

"I give you my word and my honor." Kira whispered looking him in the eye, her pupils dilated and her heart beat quickened. She had never made a promise like this before to anyone but herself, this was her highest degree of a promise, and by saying this she was promising her life to him. She was successful in portraying this message to him with the simple words she spoke.

He nodded and relaxed back in the position he was in previously. "Admiral Marcus gave me the identity when he woke me up from the cryogenic sleep I had put myself and my people in. I am an augment, a superior human."

Kira nodded "So I found myself a superman."

Khan let out a bit of a snort and leaned his head against hers. "I work for him and in return he promises my peoples safety. I sent us in to space in 1996, after the Eugenics wars."

"When were you born?" Kira suddenly interrupted him.

"1970." He answered tilting his head away so he could see Kira's face.

Her softy curved, almost button-like nose scrunched up for a moment, "I guess that means we're only two hundred and sixty-one years apart then." She smiled.

"Only." Khan chuckled before continuing his story, leaving out the unnecessary parts, until around nine o'clock.

"I should go." Khan whispered to Kira.

She glanced at the clock that was next to the door and shifted off of him. "I guess that would be best."

He smiled as he stood; Kira followed him to the door where he turned to look back at her. "I'll see you later then." She smiled.

"How does Wednesday work for you?" He asked.

"I'm free for lunch." She said after a second of thought.

Khan nodded "I'll see you then."

"'Till Wednesday." She smiled.

He was just about to turn when Kira got on to her tippy toes and kissed him softly at first until he response in kind.

When they broke apart Kira was glad for the half-light that hid her blush. "Good night!" She said cheerfully.

"Good night." Khan said as he headed down the stairs, Kira could hear a smile in his voice. She leaned against the door frame for a moment before the chilled September air seeped through her clothes and she remembered she had ten minutes until she was going to call her Mom. She turned on her toes and headed inside, after she locked the door.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Kira sat in front of her computer tapping her feet, she felt lighter than air, it was amazing the drugs your brain could give you when you did what it wanted. She listened impatiently to the fake ring her computer made as it waited for her Mom to answer on the other line.

"Hello." Her Mothers video feed came in with a bit of static for a moment.

"Hello Mom!" Kira said cheerfully swiveling in her chair a bit.

"Someone is in a good mood." Her mother stated with a grin.

"Excellent observation." Kira stated with a grin. "How are you?"

"I'm doing fine." Her Mom said "We missed you for game night, the grandkids even came over."

"The kids normally come over Mom." Kira laughed.

"I know but we still missed you."

"I'll be over next week."

Her Mom, Trish, pouted for a bit but to no avail. "That's a nice shirt." She pointed out.

Kira automatically looked down, "Thank you." Kira smiled.

"Didn't I give you that shirt?"

"Yes you did, for my birthday I do believe."

"So, how did your date go?"

Kira blushed a bit; she hadn't told her Mom she was going on a date. "Who said I went on a date?"

"Your clothes said so. You never dress up unless it's for something special."

"Hi Kira! You look nice." Kira's seventeen year old sister Lilly's face appeared next to her Mom's.

"Fine, yes, I went on a date and it was very nice." Kira said with a sigh.

"So what's his name?" Lilly and Trish asked in unison.

Kira rolled her eyes "His name is John."

"Oh." Lilly smiled

"How long have you known him?" Kira's mom asked

"We met Friday."

Her mom nodded, "When do I get to meet him?"

Kira shrugged, "I can ask him Wednesday if he wants to come with me for game night next Monday."

"you're going on another date on Wednesday?" Lilly asked incredulously.

"Yes, Lilly." Kira grinned.

"He must be good looking." Lilly stated.

"Why do you say that?"

"Two dates in one week."

"Whatever." Kira shook her head.

"So is he?"

"Yes Lilly. Would I be dating him if he wasn't?"

"Bring him on Monday! I must meet this John character." Lilly said quickly before running off.

Kira chuckled to herself.

"What does he look like?" Kira's mom asked

And so Kira talked with her mom about multiple things, most of which all seemed to circulate back to Khan.

* * *

**So, what are you're thought? Creative criticism is welcome!**

**Just a little note, Izzie is a real cat, and yes she does act like how I wrote for her in this story. Also she is what I have decided to call an immortal character, she will be in all of my stories from here on out, because I love her.**

**So I got to thinking (a horrible past time, I know), would you guys like a Photo Bucket or a Facebook? I personally like the idea of posting picture and letting you guys get a better view of things, and I would like to keep you updated and hear what you all would like to see in my writing. I'm going to try and put a poll up so you all can vote.**

**Please comment/review, favorite, and/or follow! And feel free to make suggestions, you can comment or PM me!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Live long and prosper,**

**Midnight Star26**

**P.S. If you want to see a picture of Izzie, she is in the picture I have for my account.**


	4. Meeting the Family!

**So, ah... Hi everybody! **

**Let me start of by saying I'm SO sorry I didn't post last Saturday like I promised! Also let me say I'm SO sorry I didn't post this Saturday!**

****** Important!*****

**I promise that I will, from now on try to post every other Saturday and that this will be the first and last time that I ever post on a Sunday.**

**That ****being said I do have an excuse. I was in San Francisco last weekend, the same city that, not only shares the same initials as Star Fleet, but is also where Star Fleet is based, apparently their doing something special over at the NASA center over there to commemorate (?) that fact. ****Anyway, the reason I didn't post was because the computer that had the final draft was at _least_ some 1,000 to 2,000 or more miles away. (I haven't done the math to see how far it really is.)**

**So there you have it.**

**As always, Thank you to my amazing Beta's Brightpath2 and TheatrexGeek! And thanks to all my amazing reviewers! **

**Disclamer: So even though I went to SF, I aperrently still don't own Star Trek... BUT I will when I take over the world, possible with Pinky and Brainy, and most probably with two of my best friends, even if I have to force one of them! Cross that! it will actually probably include TheatrexGeek, so that makes it three other people...**

**ON with the story!**

* * *

The dark gray car paused for half a moment before turning into the long cement driveway. It looked, in a car like way, like a big cat with sleek, strong, fluid movements that could at any moment give it the strength it needed to reach top speeds without trying.

Kira sat behind the wheel of the graceful car as she drove to her mom's house; Khan sat next to her taking in the scenery while making sure Kira didn't do anything that could possibly cause harm. In the past week they had seen each other every other day so Khan had learned quickly to be prepared for the unexpected.

The house was on the outskirts of town, roughly thirty minutes from where Kira lived. It sat towards the front of an acre and a half of land. The driveway was lined by a few oak trees, over on their left hand side Kira pointed out an old lone oak that sat towards the middle of the yard.

"That used to be my 'spot'." Kira said proudly. "I must have finished at least half the books I read in that tree." There was a moment of silence as Kira thought of all the things she had done there, including raising a Mocking bird. "I wonder if my bird is still up there." She said thoughtfully.

"What bird?" Khan asked curiously.

Kira laughed with a sudden embarrassment. "When I was around fifteen years old I found a dead bird in a car my Oma, er, that's grandma in German, was going to buy and so I got it out of the grill, put it in a plastic bag, and kept it. My family hasn't let me live it down; luckily it doesn't come up often." Kira had the hardest time calling her Oma grandma for some reason.

Khan grinned, "I know what Oma means. Still you kept a dead bird?"

Kira nodded, "A dried dead bird."

Khan laughed and Kira shook her head.

The house was an older one; it was white and gray with a white picket fence in front of the door which allowed a perfect space for a garden. It was a one story house with five rooms and three bathrooms. Kira's mom had always said that once Kira moved out she would move to a smaller house, now she had changed the saying to when Lilly moved out.

Kira parked the car in the looped part of the driveway that was closest to the door. She looked to see what cars were already there. Her mom's forest green car was in its normal spot, Crystal, Kira's oldest sister had parked her silver car just in front of Kira's car and her partner Susan had her red suburban at the end of the loop. Lilly's new car, a dark silver four door, sat in the drive way. Kira tilted her head slightly, she knew her step dad was home, but there was no sign of _his _car. In the next moment she realized that his red four door car must be in the garage. He was a busy body and one of his passions was. Kira got out of the car before Khan could grab her door.

His eyebrows knitted together. "Really?" He asked exasperated.

"Yes." Kira said and she stuck her tongue out at him. She walked along the fence to see how the garden was growing. All of the plants were a healthy green color and the few that were in bloom looked beautiful.

"Not that way." Kira warned Khan as he tried to open the gate.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because only strangers go through the front door." Kira laughed as she went around to the back. Once she opened the back gate she was greeted by Snickers, her moms Blue Healer Rottweiler mutt. "Hello mister!" Kira greeted the dog happily and rubbed behind his ears. He looked up at her with what looked like a grin as he shook his nub. When they had found him he hadn't had a tail, not that he seemed to mind, so instead of just waging his tail he waged his nub and his hunches which was a constant amusement.

"What's his name?" Khan asked behind her.

"Snickers." Kira answered as Snickers pushed passed her to greet Khan.

He was a big black dog with caramel colored legs and eyebrows. Around his neck his fur was a silver color with black spots, even for being twelve years old he was still a handsome dog.

Snickers followed them on to the porch all the way up to the door, once there he sat down, his droopy ears pricked forward asking for more attention so Kira pet him one more time before opening the back door that led to the kitchen.

She had taken exactly three steps inside when she was hit by a blur of yellow that jumped in to her arms. She hugged the child tight and spun her around in a circle.

"Hello Anna Banana." Kira laughed. The young girl had blue eyes and light, almost white, blonde hair.

"Hello Aunt Kira!" Anna said pressing her nose against Kira's so that when they looked at each other they looked like Cyclops. "I dressed up for you!" She said leaning away so Kira could see her yellow sundress.

"Very pretty, Banana." Kira smiled. "Do you want to say hi to my friend?"

Anna looked over her shoulder. "Hello I'm Anna." She said, turning in in Kira's arms and holding out her hand.

Khan shook her hand, "My name is John."

"Why don't you tell him how old are you?" Kira whispered to Anna.

"I'm ten" Anna beamed as she told Khan matter-of-factly. Kira grinned as she let Anna down.

Right across from the kitchen, which is where they had come in through, was the living and dining room. The kitchen was mostly organized; a counter wrapped around the wall on Kira's left while the trash, fridge and microwave were on her right. The only thing that separated the kitchen from the living room was a brown counter, which is where the messy part of the kitchen was located; it was the temporary home for the things that couldn't find their actual place, though today it was mostly clean.

Tucked neatly in on the living room side of the counter was the dining room table, then there was the door to Kira's parents room and a black couch that took up the rest of the wall and most of the adjacent one, it sat at least seven people. In front of the couch was a short 'kids' table. On the opposite wall was a television and a china hutch. There were also about three shelves where all of the movies were kept.

"Hello!" Kira greeted the people that were sitting at the table, which consisted of her Mom, Trish, her oldest sister Crystal and Crystal's partner Susan, both of whom were forty-one years old.

Her mom stood once she saw Kira, "Hello!" She said giving Kira a hug. Kira hugged her back then took her hand and placed it on top of her own head before moving it forward so it hung in the air two inches above her mom's head, Susan laughed and her mom pulled away.

"Yes Kira, you are still taller than me." Her mom said wryly, it was an old joke that had been going on even before Kira was born.

"Not that it's very hard." Susan laughed; she had blond hair that was cut short so it formed a bit of a bob.

"You must be John." Kira's Mom let go of her to say hello to Khan.

"Yes ma'am."

"You can call me Trish." Kira's mom smiled. She looked very much like Kira though her brown eyes were lighter and her brown hair, which, for the moment, had dark blond and copper highlights, was cut just above shoulder height and it formed into waves rather than ringlets.

"Hello Trish." Khan held out his hand.

"I'm afraid we don't do that here." Trish said seriously.

Khan gave Kira a nervous glance which she carefully ignored by turning to talk to her sister Crystal. After an awkward moment, for Khan, Trish opened her arms "I will take a hug though." Trish grinned. The look of relief on Khan's face was priceless and Kira couldn't help but giggle.

"Hello Jeff." Kira smiled as her step dad walked out of her parents' room. Kira's parents had gotten a divorce when she was three and her mom had gotten remarried when she was around five, but she had never really been able to consciously call him Dad.

"Hello Kira." He replied happily and gave her a hug.

"Jeff this is John, John this is my step dad Jeff." Kira introduced the two men.

"Nice to meet you." Jeff said and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you too." Khan shook the extended hand.

Kira had introduced Khan to most of her family when Lilly finally came running down the hall from her room.

"Sorry, I was on the phone." She said slowing to a halt as she stepped down into the living room. The "newer" side of the house, the side with the kitchen/living room and Kira's mom's room, was added on after the house was built. The common thought was that the newer foundation of the house sat lower than the original, therefore producing the one of the only steps to be found in the house.

"Who were you talking to?" Kira asked with a curious tone.

"None of your business." Lilly answered defensively and Kira grinned impishly. "So this is the famous John Harrison?" Lilly looked Khan up and down.

"Yes it is." Kira said while Khan shot her a questioning look.

After another moment Lilly seemed to make up her mind. "Nice to meet you John, I'm Lilly Carter." She held out her hand in a very professional manner. Kira had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from laughing. Lilly was roughly around Kira's height with dark brown, curly hair that was normally down or up in a bun like it was now, and brown eyes, making her nicely tanned skin look even darker.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The game night went smoothly for the most part, with a game of Uno and a game of 'let's find out about and embarrass John as much as possible'. This was the normal routine when anyone brought a boyfriend or girlfriend to the house of the first time and quite possible many times to come after that. Kira found out that Crystal's two kids, Avery and Jacob, where spending the night with their dad. Jeff had gone to watch a movie by himself and things had settled down by the time Kira's mom finally asked the question Kira had been expecting to hear all night.

"So have you planed a day to meet Kira's Dad?" Trish asked Khan. Kira's parents were on mostly good terms with each other, so it was not an odd question.

"Not that I've heard." Khan said turning to look at Kira.

Kira sat back in her chair now that the question was directed at her, "No, not yet." She admitted. She was a bit worried about taking Khan to meet her dad, not because she was worried about what her dad would do but because she knew that he was particular and that she was his youngest child, therefore she was 'his baby'. "I'll call him later." Kira decided.

"You better." Crystal and Trish warned her, humor rang in their voices.

Susan had left already so Anna could go to bed so Crystal, Trish, and Kira and Khan were the only ones left at the table after Lilly had left to go call to her friends.

"I know and I will." Kira said to end that part of the conversation.

"What time is it?" Crystal asked after a few more cards were put down.

Trish looked at her watch, "Nine-Thirty. Time for you to leave." She sighed. Nine-thirty was the time they had officially decided as the 'leave or spend the night' time during week days.

"Okay." Crystal said as they all stood up.

There was a round of hugs and farewells before they left.

They were almost to Kira's apartment when something suddenly dawned upon her, "I guess this means its official." She thought out loud.

Khan looked over at her, "What do you mean?" He asked as they pulled in to a parking spot.

Kira waited for him to get her door before replying, "This means that you're officially mine." She said as she stood up.

Khan smiled at her reply "I thought it was official the night we met."

Kira shrugged "It doesn't matter that much when it's made official than does?" She asked the redundant question, but before he could reply she wrapped her arms around his neck intending to just hug him, till of course he kissed her.

After a moment Kira pulled away a bit. "I got you." She whispered regretfully, laying her head on his shoulder.

Khan smiled, squeezed her a bit tighter, and kisses Kira's forehead.

"I love you Khan." She whispered.

"I love you Kira." He whispered back, his head rested on top of Kira's. Kira could hear strength and meaning in his voice, she pressed herself closer wishing the moment could last longer.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

It was Tuesday night when Kira finally sat down at the desk in her room to video chat with her dad.

"Hi Dad!" Kira said cheerfully once her dads face appeared on the computer screen. Her dad, Doug, had a head of gray hair seasoned respectfully for his age with white, he also had blue green eyes, which had only been passed down to Kira's older sister Ashley. He had gray and white sideburns along with a goatee. Over all he was a very handsome person.

"Hello Kira! How are you?"

"I'm doing well, how about you?"

"I'm alright, work has kept me busy." Even though her dad was in his fifties and could already be retired, he still worked for some reason.

Kira shook her head, "Have you been sleeping?" Her dad had the tendency to stay up late working and Kira would get very frustrated with him.

Trying to escape the question Kira's dad came up with another topic. "How has your work been?"

Kira let him slid, "I can't complain, I actually have a family photo day tomorrow."

"You enjoy those." her dad smiled

"Not when they start at eight in the morning." Kira sighed.

"Take what's given to you." Her dad wisely advised her. "Anyway when are you coming over next?"

"That's actually why I called you." Kira grinned.

"Well Kristian is coming over with her husband on Saturday; she says they have a surprise for us. Mandy is going to come also."

"I wonder what it could be." Kira said rubbing her chin even though she had already formed a guess. Kristian was pregnant, so most likely she would finally be spilling the beans on the gender of her first child.

"I've no idea." Her dad said sarcastically.

Kira nodded, that worked for her. "Do you mind if I bring someone?" Kira asked getting to the reason she was calling to come over, normally she just dropped by.

"I'm guessing your guest is a male." Her dad said faking a serious tone.

"Yes."

"Would I be right to guess that you two are dating?"

"Yes." Kira grinned.

"Well I guess I should meet him before you two get too serious then. I have to make sure he's worthy of my daughter." Kira smiled at her dads words, other than Mandy who was twenty-three, she was the only one in her family, other than the under aged ones, that was not married.

"I love you!" Kira smiled and waved as she heard Nicole, her dad's wife, calling for him.

"I love you too." Her Dad said before hanging up.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Kira's Father's house was made of a brownish brick and had a special roof made to look like regular shingles but they were actually made from metal. It was smaller, width wise, compared to her mom's house. One large white oak sat back in the front yard to provide shade. Leading up to the front door was a winding pathway with a garden on the side that was next to the house. A bay window sat three feet from the door, or rather the gate that lead to the door.

"Do you go through it the front or back door here?" Khan asked jokingly.

"The front door of course, what crazy people go around the back to get in to a house?" Kira laughed as she pulled her keys from her jean pockets. She was wearing a lavender shirt that had white prints around the left shoulder and neck.

She tried to open the door and was pleased to find that it was unlocked.

"Hello." Kira called out once she was inside. The first room was the music room; the main feature of it was a beautiful black baby grand piano. The room was colored around the piano, a path of white tile lead to the next room while the rest of the music room had polished gray wood flooring. Kitty corner to the far corner was a black couch for two and behind it was an old wooden screen decorated with birds, next to the couch was a dresser of sorts that had multiple decorations on it.

Kira barely took notice of this because she had seen it so many times.

"Will you play me something?" Khan asked walking next to her, he already knew that she could play.

Kira laughed "I can play most things if I have the sheet music; it takes me forever to memorize pieces of music."

Khan nodded, "Are you making an excuse?"

Kira shrugged, "Maybe."

"Is someone trying to convince Kira to play the piano?" Kira's dad asked from the kitchen.

"Yes." Kira laughed, her dad loved it when she played the piano.

"Hi Kira!" Nicole came and gave her a hug.

"Hi Nicole. This is John, John this is my step mom Nicole." Kira smiled as they said hello and shook hands, before she lead the way to the kitchen.

"Hello Father dearest." Kira announced herself in a sing song voice.

"Hello Kira." Her dad turned away from the pork he had been slicing.

"Oh, is that what I think it is?" Kira said leaning over the bar so she could see the counter better.

"That depends on what you think it is." Doug stated simply as he wiped his hands with a towel and walked out of the kitchen.

"I'm Doug." Her dad held his hand out to Khan.

"I'm John; it's nice to meet you." Khan shook the offered hand.

Kira gave her dad a hug, "Are we the first ones here?" She asked checking the clock and seeing that it was about one.

"Yes you are." Her dad was, as stated before a handsome, even if heavy set man.

"Kristian and Alex are stuck in traffic." Nicole said looking at her phone.

"And Mandy?"

"She's ridding with them."

"Ah." Kira nodded. Kristian lived about an hour away and Mandy's apartment was on her way.

"Well do you need any help?" Kira offered

"I would actually love if you could play some music for me." Doug grinned.

"Sounds good to me." Khan pulled Kira to his hip.

Kira smiled and kissed Khan's cheek, "I'm going to go change in to my bathing suit and go swimming." She said before running off to her old room.

Khan let out a heavy sigh, "Do you need any help?" He asked Doug.

"No," Doug finished the last role of pork, bacon, and jalapeño, "I'm done with cooking for the next fifteen minutes. Did you bring a bathing suit?"

"Yes sir."

Doug smirked, "Why don't you go change then. I'll be out once the food is done."

Khan nodded, "Where is the bathroom?"

"It's the first door on your left ones you turn." Nicole informed him.

"Oh, and John," Doug called to him as he rummaged through Kira's bag.

"Yes?" He paused before he went down the hallway.

"Try not to let Kira drowned you." Kira's dad grinned.

Khan raised an eyebrow in question but before he could say anything Kira slipped past him.

"Go get dressed." She called to him as she opened the sliding door.

Khan obediently did as she said.

Kira was in a blue, white, black, and silver one-piece Speedo. She slipped through the space she had opened, closed the door behind her, and examined the yard. It was a small yard because of the pool which was shaped like a jelly bean. Across the pool from her the cumquat tree was blooming for the third and final time that year, it was already heavy with still green fruit. There were a few other bushes and a vegetable garden that Nicole was tending and in a specially designed pot there were three pineapple plants.

Kira examined the leaves of the pineapple plants, the plant itself grew like an aloe plant and, when it was ready to grow a pineapple, a shoot would grow from the very middle. By far pineapple plants were some of the oddest things Kira had seen. Once she was satisfied her plants were happy she laid out her towel, so it would be warm for when she got out, then dived into the pool. She had dove into the deep end and was almost to the slid at the opposite, shallow end of the pool when she came up for air.

Kira let out a sigh as she soaked in the water for a moment before she dove from where she was, keeping close to the bottom of the pool. Once she reached the deep end she pushed off the bottom and grabbed hold of the edge. She pulled herself out of the water and was about to dive back into the pool when she heard the sliding door open, she paused for half a moment to see who it was before diving back in, this time she pulled out of the dive quickly so she was in the middle of the pool.

"Hello handsome." Kira grinned as she treaded water.

Khan smiled "Hello beautiful." He followed suit in the greeting. Once he laid his towel down he dove in and Kira swam back so she could touch the ground.

"It took you long enough." Kira smiled as she swam to him.

"I socialized a bit." He admitted as Kira wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist so she didn't have to stand or tread water. "Your Dad should be in the pool in a little bit." Khan stated, trying to imply that they should not be so touchy with each other.

"I figured." She said, purposefully ignoring what he was implying. Khan let out a small sigh and wrapped his arms around her waist. Kira kissed him softly for listening to her unspoken words.

"So, what would you like to do?" Khan asked.

Kira thought for a moment, "Let's play Marco Polo!" Kira grinned; Marco Polo was her favorite game, mostly because she was brilliant at the game.

"Alright." Khan shrugged.

"I'll be it." Kira said swimming over to the stairs.

After about two rounds later and a few clever escapes Kira was it again and was about to catch Khan when she heard the door slid open.

"Hello Dad!" She said her eyes still closed as she leaped forward on the now slightly distracted Khan. "You're it!" Kira laughed.

Khan whirled around to face her but she had already latched on to his back.

"I love you." She giggled in his ear.

"Mind if I join you two?" Doug asked.

"Not at all." Kira said, still on Khan's back.

Her dad smiled at the scene as he got in to the pool. "Nicole is changing."

Kira nodded, both she and her dad knew that Nicole would most likely just sit on the edge. "K-John is it." She said letting herself slip off his back.

"I'd call for a replay that one but I think it would end the same." Khan stated making Kira grin.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Go count." She told him.

He snorted and went under water by the stairs.

It was another fifteen minutes till Kristian, Alex, and Mandy made it to the house.

"Hello." Kristian greeted everyone, she eyed Khan suspiciously.

"Hello Kristian, this is John, John this is Kristian my lovely step sister, and this is her husband Alex, and that is Mandy." Kira said as they came outside in single file. Kristian was a woman in her late twenties, she had green eyes and strait brown hair, Alex was her husband, he had tan skin, hazel eyes and black hair. Mandy was in her early twenty's with dark blond hair and hazel eyes. Kira actually looks more like Nicole then either of her daughters.

"Hello." Khan said following Kira out of the pool.

Kira tried to offer hugs but didn't get any till she dried off.

"Hello Doug bug!" Mandy said cheerfully.

"Hello mad Mandy!" Doug replied in kind.

"Hi Mandy girl." Kira said and gave her a tight hug.

"Who is that?" Mandy whispered in Kira's ear

"His name is John."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Mandy asked with a hint of surprise on her voice.

Kira put her hands on her hips, "Why don't you go and ask him yourself."

"Fine." Mandy said and walked to Khan. "Hello, my name is Mandy." She stated.

"Hello Mandy, my name is John." He had to keep a smirk from forming on his face.

"Are you Kira's boyfriend?" Mandy asked getting strait to the point.

This time Khan did chuckle a bit and looked over at Kira who was watching them, looking for an answer. Kira just stood, grinning and making small talk with Kristian. "I suppose you could call me that." Khan finally answered. Mandy left him shortly after to go talk with her mom so Khan crept up behind Kira, and once he was close enough he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. "Do you like to watch me squirm?" He asked in a soft whisper, his head on her shoulder.

"Occasionally it is very amusing." She whispered back before continuing her conversation with Kristian.

"You're very comfortable." He informed her.

Kira laughed, "You are the first one to say that! Everyone else calls me boney."

"That's because you are." Kristian pointed out.

"That's not calling the kettle black!" Kira laughed. Although both Kira and Kristian were muscular people they were both considered under weight. This comment took them in to a whole new branch of conversation.

Khan listened for a bit before seeking out something else to do. Doug was coming out with a plate of food, maybe he could help. "Doug, do you need some help?" Khan asked as he walked away from Kira.

"Actually I'm just bringing this out to cook it on the grill." Doug answered, "But if you want to help, Nicole is in the kitchen setting up the food."

Khan nodded and headed inside.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After dinner and playing in the pool a bit more Kristian was finally ready to make her announcement. They were all lying out to dry and catch the last rays of the sun when she asked for their attention.

"So as you all know, except for john that is," she grinned, despite her initial thoughts about him they had soon become friends, "I went to the doctor last week." Kristian paused to add effect, "It's a boy!"

This announcement was met with quite a bit of cheering which then died down to a very active conversation and the cashing in of a few bets.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After Kristian, Alex, and Mandy left things calmed down again. Kira gave up fighting her dad and Khan, and had now resigned herself to playing the piano. Her dad and Nicole sat on the black couch behind her and Khan sat, unbeknownst to him, in Kira's dad's favorite wicker chair where Kira could see him relatively well. She played all sorts of songs, from _Spring_ by Antonio Vivaldi to the _Piano Man_ by Billy Joel to a Whole New World from Aladdin. Finally for the last song she was going to play Khan actually sat next to her and played the part for the second person.

Kira let out a sigh she finished; her fingers actually ached from playing.

"Why don't we play a game?" Kira asked.

"Like what?" Her dad asked.

"How about Risk?" She offered.

"I actually like John right now so why not something else."

"Nothing else is interesting."

"Fine." Her dad caved, he did enjoy playing Risk. So they all moved in to the living room and gathered around the table.

As they placed their pieces Kira could barely stop herself from laughing, not only did she have all of Europe but she also had a firm footing in North America, which was nice but not the reason she was grinning. She was grinning because Khan had a firm hold on the Northeast hemisphere, the same area he had controlled the Eugenic Wars.

"It's never a good thing when Kira smiles during a game like this." Her Dad stated as he started to add more armies to the countries that shared a border with Kira.

"I'm also an expert at bluffing." Kira laughed.

"How so?" Khan asked, so far she had shown her emotions quite clearly to him.

"Because I'm almost always smiling."

"Also she likes to bleed you in this game. I went up against her once, she had five armies and I had about twenty, I took three of her guys easily but by the time I finally got the territory I only had three." Doug's comment won a round of laughter.

"He only won because you can only role six so many times before people start thinking you're a demon." Kira giggled.

And what was said was true, half way through the game Kira had kept most of her territories simply by virtue of 'bleeding' whoever wanted to take it from her. It was around this time that Khan and Kira owned most of the board, Nicole's only foot hold was in South America and Doug had Australia and a small part of Africa. Khan had Asia and was slowly getting Africa while Kira owned Europe and North America.

"How has fencing been going?" Doug asked Kira.

"Good, I had a tournament the week before last." Kira grinned, fencing was the one sport she stuck with the longest.

"Where did you place?"

"I won fourth place in epee." Kira said proudly.

"How many people were there?" Khan asked.

"Eleven." Kira glared at him and he chuckled.

"When is your next one?" Nicole asked.

"Next Saturday."

"You're fencing foil?" Her dad asked as he rolled to try and get more of Africa.

"Yup, then I fence epee again on Sunday."

"Mind if I come?" Khan asked.

"Not at all." Kira smiled.

It was right as Khan got all Africa that his phone chirped; he flipped it open and read the message.

Kira could see his eyebrows knit together. "You have to leave?" She said it more as a statement then a question as she looped her arm through his and held his hand, stroking his thumb with hers, it was a small gesture but it did calm him down a bit.

"Yes." He sighed.

"Don't crash my car." Kira jokingly warned.

"How are you going to get home then?" Khan asked.

"Dad?"

"Sure." Doug relied to the one word question.

Kira stood to grab her keys from her shoulder bag. She hated purses so she normally had a messenger bag instead; it allowed her to carry more things anyway. "Lucifer! Move." Kira demanded as she looked down at the small black kitten that had curled up on her bag. Her dad had named him Lucifer not because he disliked cats but because he had decided long ago that, no matter how much he liked cats, they were all demons. Kira had laughed at this explanation but had decided later that the name suited the cat.

Lucifer looked up at her with his dark green eyes and yawned. Kira let out a sigh and picked up the three month old runt of a kitten in one hand and grabbed her car keys with her other. She placed the cat back down and he yawned again before curling back in to a ball.

"It was nice to meet you." Khan said, Kira could tell he was trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.

"It was nice to meet you to John." Doug stood and shook his hand and Nicole stole a hug.

Kira walked Khan out to give Nicole and her dad a chance to talk.

"I'm sorry about this." Khan said, he allowed his frustration to show once they were alone.

"It's fine." Kira said, "This gives me a chance to talk to my dad about you." She smiled.

Khan smiled, she already knew how to cheer him up. He hugged her tight, breathing in the smell of her chlorinated hair before she looked up at him.

"Don't hurt my car." Kira whispered and kissed him, he held her tight against him and she wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her hand in his hair. She broke away so they were only about a centimeter apart. "When should I expect my car back?" She asked.

"How about I make you breakfast." Khan whispered.

"I'll leave the door unlocked." Kira grinned and kissed him softly. "I don't have bacon." She let him know as she handed him her keys.

"You will." He said opening the door.

Kira waited by the door to watch him leave before going back inside.

"So what day should I mark my calendar?" Doug asked faking a grudging tone as soon as she sat back down on the couch.

"For what?" Kira asked.

"Your wedding." Her Dad joked.

Kira rolled her eyes, "So does that mean you approve of him?"

"Well he needs a bit of working on but I guess he'll do." Doug replied.

"I like him." Nicole stated, "Plus he seems to love and respect you quite a lot." She smiled

"When did you two meet?" Doug asked curiously.

"Last Friday." Kira admitted.

Both Nicole and Doug seemed surprised.

"What?" Kira asked when they didn't comment.

"You just seem like you've known each other a lot longer." Nicole admitted.

Kira grinned, "We clicked." She informed them. They both knew about 'clicking' seeing as when Kira had read the book she both told them a lot about it and used her family as guinea pigs.

* * *

**So you're thought? Was it worth waiting so long? I'm really glad that this one happened to be one of the SUPER long ones and I didn't make you wait forever for a short, shrimpy little chapter.**

**AH! Fun fact, so when I came up with (Found on a baby name website...) Kira's name I felt all clever and all proud of myself, till of course I played Pathfinders (basically a form of D&D) that is and realized that that was the name of my character. Then I felt very crushed, but still, I really like the name so it doesn't matter, to me that is..**

**Thanks for reading! Please Review, follow, of favorite! I really do love reading reviews and if I get enough (I'll do the math later and let you know in the next chapter) reviews I promise to make Chapter 10 really fun and special.**

**anyway I have to go now so night night ( because for me right now it is night time)!**

**Love ya's!**

**Midnight Star26**


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